Female Spain Park student will be allowed to 'paint up' for homecoming football game

A Spain Park senior will be allowed to "paint up", in a sports bra, with school-colored paint for Friday's homecoming football game.

Macie Joines, a senior at Hoover's Spain Park High School, said her principal has allowed her to paint her body in support for the team, just like the male student members of the spirit squad do shirtless.

Joines said she is meeting with her principal later today to talk about the "good news."

The issue started a few days ago, at the start of Homecoming Week, when Joines said she wanted to "paint up" for the big game. Painting up means students paint their bodies from head to toe in school colors as part a spirit squad. The squad is separate and independent from the school, Joines said said.

Joines asked the spirit squad if she could join the boys in painting up, and the squad said sure-- if administration said it was okay.

Joines said she had painted up for a previous football game and wore a sports bra, while her male counterparts were shirtless.

This time, though, school administrators said no. Joines said they denied her request because she's a girl.

The student said three male school administrators said she could paint up as long as she wore a t-shirt-- but said male students can still do it shirtless.

Joines started a petition on change.org five days ago that had gotten more than 1150 signatures by Thursday morning. "I think that women should be allowed to participate as equally in any sport or organization that men do," she wrote in the petition.

After she delivered her petition to school officials Monday, with just over 500 signatures, Hoover City Schools spokesperson Jason Gaston said school administrators would review the decision.

Gaston had not responded to AL.com's request for comment by the time of publication. This post will be updated.